The Heiress of Slytherin

Catch Your Breath or You'll Drown

Her dreams were haunted throughout the night. Draco crying, a rasping voice talking about murder, terror sunk into the stone-like features of an eleven-year-old boy, and the word again, like a drumbeat in her skull.

Ivy woke to two things: debilitating exhaustion and the school lit up like a wildfire with the news about what had happened to Collin Creevey.

Draco and Ivy told their friends about how they'd been there in whispered voices in the furthest corner of the common room, repeating every detail of the story over and over upon request till Ivy wanted to tear her hair out.

The school blew apart faster than she could have ever expected. She rounded a corner on her way to potions and saw Neville talking hurriedly to an older Ravenclaw, who seemed to be showing him something hidden in the side of his robes. Ivy rolled her eyes and marched over: she'd been seeing this all day, but she wasn't about to let her friend be duped.

"Alright, fess up, what has this git told you he's got to protect you?" Asked Ivy impatiently and both the boys looked back at her with silence and wide eyes. "Do I look stupid? Show me."

The Ravenclaw cleared his throat and desperately tried to save himself. "This is a very rare item, it's called a Nimplypiffler and it's from Transylvania. It wards off evil spirits."

Ivy muttered under her breath and pressed her thumb and forefinger to her temple, then quick as a flash she grabbed the item and held it before her in the open, scrunching her nose up at the foul smell.

"First of all, you just combined the words Plimpy and Niffler to get a load of rubbish. Second of all, this is the root of a Snargluff. Rotten too, if the smell is any indicator." The Ravenclaw sputtered both angrily and defensively in response, clear indicators that Ivy had hit the mark.

Ivy dismissed him with an impatient wave of her hand and he ran down the corridor, not stopping to pick up the root that she had thrown disdainfully out the window into the courtyard.

"Now, I knew what that was why, Neville?" He shook his head blankly at her, looking a bit red, and Ivy sighed. "Because you taught me about Snargluffs. What's gotten into you?"

They hadn't been seeing much of each other this term. She had tried to brush it off as just them both being busy at different times, but she couldn't help but notice an uptick in how busy he had been after she fell out with their three mutual friends. She just hoped she was imagining that correlation.

He kicked the floor with the toe of his shoe and sighed. In a timid quiet voice, he said, "Everyone's been talking, after Collin. About the sort of magician Salazar Slytherin wanted in his house. Powerful and pureblooded. I'm not powerful, Ivy. I'm from a pureblood family but that might not be enough."

Ivy's heart softened taking in his defeated expression and she reached out to gently hold his arm, "Neville, you're amazing." she said softly.

He frowned and shook her hand off, taking her by surprise. "You don't get it," his soft tone was gone as he snapped at her harsher than Ivy had ever heard before. "My uncle had to drop me out of a second-story window before they knew I was magical. Everyone thought I was a squib for years, and they're practically right. You've heard Snape and every other teacher for that matter. I'm a pathetic excuse for a magician."

Ivy was taken aback by how angry he sounded, but she tried to push past it, set her hurt feelings aside and focus on him. "You're amazing, Neville, you're an absolute genius at Herbology. You've taught me so much-"

He frowned and shook his head as he cut her off, "I passed out at a baby mandrake, Ivy, I'm not good at anything." He glowered darkly, "You don't get it. You're top of the class in all your subjects. We can't all be as talented as you."